Russia is now the world’s leading wheat exporter and is monopolizing Middle East markets, which were once the preserve of America.

Russia will harvest 62.5 million metric tons of wheat in 2016, the most in eight years, according the Moscow-based Institute for Agriculture Market Studies (IKAR). Exports from the Black Sea area rose to $185 a ton last week, the highest since December. Prices increased 3.9 percent from a five-year low set in February and March, reports IKAR.